ON TV/RADIO SPORTS.

Home Out Of Range: Big 10 Doesn't Roam Far

February 03, 1995|By Steve Nidetz.

The Big 10 weekend basketball package, long a staple on local television, has disappeared in some areas. Syndicator Raycom had to find a new outlet Jan. 1 when WGBO-Ch. 66 became a full-time affiliate of all-Spanish Univision.

A handful of the telecasts-usually the first game of a double-header-was picked up by WBBM-Ch. 2. The rest, however, landed at WJYS-Ch. 62, until last year an affiliate of the Home Shopping Network.

The problem with WJYS is that the UHF independent has limited range in the north and northwest suburbs. It is carried neither by cable systems in Evanston, home of Big 10 school Northwestern (whose home game Saturday against Indiana will be on WJYS), nor Schaumburg, where the Big 10 offices are headquartered.

"The package was offered to the entire market," said Raycom executive Richard Kilwien. WJYS "was the only place" that wanted it. "There was not a lot of interest in the market." WJYS has been trying to increase its penetration in the area, "and that enhances our position."

Raycom, added Kilwien, recently has had problems selling conference packages in large metropolitan areas around the country. "It's the same thing with the Southwest Conference in Dallas and Houston and with the Pac-10 in Los Angeles," he said. "I equate that with attendance. Look at the schools in those metropolitan areas; they don't draw very well."

According to a Big 10 spokesman, the problem should go away by fall, when a new syndication agreement kicks in with ESPN and its subsidiary, Creative Sports. "With Creative, we'll have football to sell as well," he said. Part of the new deal gives Creative a football "Game of the Week" in addition to rights to basketball telecasts.

Olympian thoughts: It was just a matter of time, but . . . "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune," staples of syndicated television and seen locally on WLS-Ch. 7 for years, have been named Official Game Shows of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Summer Games. . . . CBS Sports reports its "Eye on Sports" figure skating series from Thanksgiving to Jan. 8 averaged a 3.4 Nielsen rating with an 8 share, making it the highest-rated sports show other than football or one NBA game. "CBS Sports had a mission," said division President David Kenin, "to counter-program the NFL. We created a figure skating series targeted to women and it delivered, bringing a strong women's audience to weekend afternoon television." . . . And ex-CBS Sports President Neal Pilson recently predicted the bidding for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney would be a blockbuster battle between Fox and NBC. He still sees the Fox "shadow" all over sports, even where it didn't bid, and says that has caused a philosophical shift in the industry. "It's fashionable to lose money on sports again," said Pilson, "as a benefit for other things."

Plan ahead: SportsChannel has added two live Wolves telecasts-at 7 p.m. Feb. 18 vs. Peoria and at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at Kalamazoo-and dropped two others-Feb. 24 at Cleveland and March 3 at Cincinnati. Also, two Wolves telecasts have been switched from tape delay to live-6:30 p.m. March 15 at Detroit and 6 p.m. March 25 at Cleveland. . . . ESPN has reached an agreement with the ATP to provide domestic and international coverage of the "Super 9"-the men's tennis circuit's championship series-starting with the Newsweek Champions Cup March 6-13.

Personnel moves: Richard Petty returns to the CBS broadcast booth for live coverage of the NASCAR Daytona 500 Feb. 19. Petty, who retired in 1992, made his CBS debut last season. . . . SportsChannel has hired Loyola Assistant Athletic Director Lisa Ann Mikolai as director of communications and Rainbow Advertising executive Jim Reddan as director of planning and administration. . . . SportsChannel play-by-play man Tom Dore will handle color commentary for WMAQ-AM's broadcast of Wednesday night's Bulls game since the telecast was switched to WGN-Ch. 9. . . . WMVP-AM midday hosts Jim Kozimor and Dave Kaplan will team up for SportsChannel's telecast of the Wright State-UIC basketball game at 1 p.m. Saturday.

True irony: Major League Baseball Home Video plans a promotion campaign in March for the release of seven "blooper" titles under the title of "Lineup of Laughter." No word on whether they will include any of the current labor negotiations.

Programming notes: Norm Van Lier hosts "The CBA Today," a weekly half-hour show of Rockers and other CBA highlights, at 6 p.m. Saturdays. . . . NBC announcers Bob Costas and Bob Uecker will be reunited for the first time since last July's All-Star Game for the tape-delayed Major League All-Star Softball Game at 4 p.m. Saturday on WMAQ-Ch. 5. . . . Sports anchor Jim Huber revisits the members of the Yugoslavian youth basketball team who found sanctuary in rural Illinois two years ago on "The Sporting Life" at 6:30 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday on CNN. . . . Stephen Powell, having survived his debut as the Blackhawks' new national anthem soloist last week, will be profiled on the SportsChannel pregame show at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.